July 12, 2017

Africa’s young innovative population is its silver bullet

located:	Nigeria
editor:	Bob Koigi

While countries like Spain, Germany and Japan are currently experiencing population decline, the African continent has been on an unprecedented explosion, currently being home to some 1.2 billion people, a steep climb from the 477 million it had in 1980.

It is a trend attributed to improved healthcare that has reduced child mortality rates while increasing life expectancy. Yet this ballooning trend is expected to persist. By 2050, data shows that on average there will be more than 42 million people born in Africa each year which will see the continent’s population hit the 2.4 billion mark. As the world marks the Word Population Day this week, global leaders are meeting in London for a Family Planning Summit as they seek to deliberate on how to tap into the demographic dividend potential while exploring its potential drawbacks.

Majority of African countries like Nigeria are expected to be among those that will contribute to half of the world’s population between now and the year 2050. But even as the world ponders on how to tame this larger-than-life phenomenon in the wake of dwindling resources which could elicit conflicts, it is worth celebrating the relatively young African population burning the mid night oil to redefine history.

Africa is home to the youngest population with 50 per cent of the population in about 40 African countries being under 20 years. And while majority have had to make do with spiraling unemployment, and humanitarian crises, they have been at the driver’s seat in bringing to life some of the most innovative technologies that have not only solved homegrown problems, but have been adopted world over. From smart jackets that detect the life threatening pneumonia faster than a doctor, mobile money services that reach the unbanked giving them a guarantee to access credit at reasonably cheaper terms to applications that fight endemic corruption in the public sector, the young population in Africa has breathed new life to the continent.

As the world leaders look to family planning to address a prospective population crisis which may emanate from Africa, maybe they should also consider enlisting the support of the young African population in coming up with sustainable ways of taking care of the immediate needs of the current population while also letting them own the family control debate.

Photo: LPT